Review Sections:

Founded in 1996, London Capital Group Holdings Plc (LCG) was an early pioneer in the online trading industry and was involved in several acquisitions and sales of online brokerage brands. After 20 years in operation, LCG has executed over $20 trillion worth of notional trade volume from over $1 billion in deposits.

In 2006, the company was listed on the AIM section of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), where it continues to trade today under ticker symbol LCG, with a market capitalization of nearly £10.5 million. It maintains offices in London, Cyprus, China and South Africa.

Trust Score

Trading with a forex broker traders can trust is crucial to success. Unfortunately, forex fraud and scams are common in the industry.

Here at ForexBrokers.com, we maintain the largest independent regulatory database available on the web. Using 28 different variables, we have created a proprietary 1-100 score (the higher the better) of overall trustworthiness, which we call the Trust Score. Here is our trust summary of LCG.

LCG

Trust Score

78

Year Founded

1996

Publicly-Traded Company (Listed)

Yes

Regulated in Major Hub

Yes

Regulated in Emerging Hub

No

Authorised in the European Union

Yes

CFTC Registered (USA)

No

FCA Regulated (UK)

Yes

IIROC Authorised (Canada)

No

FINMA Authorised (Switzerland)

No

ASIC Authorised (Australia)

No

SFC Authorised (Hong Kong)

No

MAS Authorised (Singapore)

No

FSA Authorised (Japan)

No

FMA Authorised (New Zealand)

No

CySEC Authorised (Cyprus)

No

Offering of Investments

The following table summarizes the different investment products available to LCG clients.

LCG

Minimum Initial Deposit

$0.00

Currency Pairs (Total Forex pairs)

82

CFDs - Total Offered

4759

Exchange Traded Securities: US

No

Exchange Traded Securities: International

No

Cryptocurrency traded as actual

No

Cryptocurrency traded as CFD

Yes

Commissions & Fees

LCG’s spreads on its forex pairs vary, depending on whether you open a Classic or ECN account. Considering the low margin requirements available for major currency pairs and its range of platforms and account type, LCG’s pricing can cater to nearly every trader type.

For example, on the Classic account type, average spreads on the EUR/USD are 1.45 pips, while traders needing a more competitive spread can establish an ECN account with a $10 K deposit and have their all-in cost drop to 0.65 pips (0.2 average spread + 0.45 pip commission) after factoring the round turn commission of $4.5 per standard lot using the LCGTrader platform.

Meanwhile, the round-turn commission on MT4 is more than double at $10.00 per 100K, and not as competitive as the rate on LCGTrader when it comes to the ECN account.

The ECN account also provides more favorable margin rates in terms of maximum trade sizes than the Classic account, where the tiered margin levels are more restricted.

Furthermore, premium services are available to traders with at least £25,000 on deposit at LCG, along with a rebate program for active traders. Overall, the ECN account has an all-round advantage, but the high minimum account balance required makes the Classic account an easier choice for those on a tight trading budget.

LCG

Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard

1.60

All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active

0.85

Active Trader or Premium/VIP

Yes

Customer Service

For our 2018 Forex Review, 129 customer service phone tests were conducted over three months. The data collected is institutional grade. On average, three questions were asked for each test. To score each test, the tests were divided into three separate groups and scores were given for the time taken to connect with each support representative and the ability of each representative to professionally (and thoroughly) answer each question. A Net Promoter Score was also given for the overall experience.

Results:

Average Connection Time: <1 minute

Average Net Promoter Score: 7 / 10

Average Professionalism Score: 6.7 / 10

Overall Score: 7.3 / 10

Ranking: 2th (43 brokers)

Research

LCG’s research offering includes content from an in-house team of analysts that provides technical and fundamental analysis in the form of videos and written articles covering multiple asset classes. There are also weekly webinars in which LCG staff conduct market analysis, helping to keep traders up to date on developments.

LCG also integrates research from third-party providers such as FXStreet to help power its economic calendar, and for traders with Premium Client status LCG offers Trading Central, which offers technical analysis, chart patterns, trade recommendations and signals.

In addition, Trading Central is available from within the account management portal for live account holders, providing traders access to premium research tools. Live account holders also get access to streaming news in the platform powered by ShareCast.

Integrating a stock screener, heatmap and more technical analysis posts about forex would help boost the LCG’s research offering. Overall, LCG’s research is respectable, providing an experience that is slightly above the industry standard. LCG finished 15th out of 43 brokers for Research in our 2018 Review.

LCG

Daily Market Commentary

Yes

Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)

Yes

AutoChartist

No

Trading Central (Recognia)

Yes

Delkos Research

No

Acuity Trading

No

Social Trading / Copy-Trading

Yes

Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs

Yes

Client Webinars

Yes

Client Webinars (Archived)

No

Videos - Beginner Trading Videos

Yes

Economic Calendar

Yes

Calendar Includes Forecasts

Yes

Economic News Sentiment

Yes

Trade Ideas - Backtesting

Yes

Platforms & Tools

LCG offers platform suites developed by two of the most popular 3rd party developers, including the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform from MetaQuotes Software Corporation, and the cTrader platform – branded as LCGTrader, developed by Spotware systems. To learn more about Spotware Systems platform, read our cTrader guide.

While MT4 comes standard with little that varies from broker to broker on the surface of the platform, there can be significant differences in how the platform is set up when it comes to trading spreads and commissions, the available execution method, and other tools, features, and administrative areas that can affect your trading experience.

The main difference when it comes to LCG’s MT4 offering is its range of account types and applicable pricing and margin requirements across each option, among other differences when comparing its offered accounts. LCG also provides traders access to MT4 WebTrader – the web-based version of MT4, in addition to the standard desktop version. To learn more about MT4, read our MetaTrader guide

As mentioned earlier, LCGTrader is the branded version of the cTrader platform for LCG, and comes as a web-based version, and for Windows desktop, as well as a mobile app for Android and Apple iOS devices.

The cTrader suite includes related trading applications from the developer, such as the cAlgo and cMirror platforms, where cAlgo is used for automated trading and cMirror is a social copy-trading platform, which can also be used at LCG.

Charting within the LCGTrader platform is one of the main attractions of the software as users get plenty of drawing tools and a good range of 64 indicators that are available by default. More advanced users can obtain custom indicators from the cTrader Developer Network (cTDN) or code them on their own.

Overall, there has been a lot of attention to detail across the LCGTtrader platform, as can be seen in the number of subtle features available, the range of layout customizations, and the scope of tools the software comes with by default, including over 60 indicators and drawing tools in the integrated charting module.

While not many brokers offer both MT4 and cTrader, LCG is at an advantage by being able to provide traders both options. That said, it’s LCGTrader platform boasts several advantages, including more favorable pricing and features such as the Guaranteed Stop Loss Order (GSLO), making LCGTrader our recommended platform choice.

LCG

Virtual Trading (Demo)

Yes

Desktop Platform (Windows)

Yes

Desktop Platform (Mac)

No

Web Platform

Yes

Social Trading / Copy-Trading

Yes

Proprietary

No

MetaTrader4 (MT4)

Yes

MetaTrader5 (MT5)

No

cTrader

Yes

Currenex

No

ZuluTrade

No

MirrorTrader

No

Charting - Drawing Tools (Total)

31

Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)

51

Watchlists - Total Fields

7

Order Type - Trailing Stop

Yes

Mobile Trading

LCG offers the native mobile version of both of its offered platforms, including MT4 developed by MetaQuotes, and LCGTrader, a branded version of the cTrader platform by SpotWare Systems. To learn more about MT4, read our guide to MetaTrader.

At LCG, MetaTrader mobile can be used with either Classic or ECN accounts.

Moving on to LCG’s other mobile trading app that can be used with either account type, LCGTrader comes available as a mobile app for Android and Apple iOS devices.

Overall, the LCGTrader mobile app is highly versatile and brings a consistent theme with the web-version, thanks to its responsive design. This means nearly all the features available in the web version of the platform are in the mobile app too, including syncing watch lists.

LCG

Android App

Yes

Apple iOS App

Yes

Charting - Draw Trend Lines

Yes

Charting - Can Turn Horizontally

Yes

Charting - Technical Studies/Indicators

30

Watch List Syncing

Yes

Trading - Forex

Yes

Trading - CFDs

Yes

Alerts - Basic Fields

Yes

Other Notes

LCG launched cryptocurrency CFDs in 2017 with three Bitcoin pairs including BTC/USD, BTC/GBP and BTC/EUR.

LCG uses a dynamic margining system on both MT4 and LCGTrader accounts, which adapts automatically to changes in the value of each client’s positions so that the appropriate margin requirement is applied.

Forex has three margin groups representing major, minor and exotic currency pairs with regards to available leverage, and four tier levels for each group where each tier is tied to leverage limits based on trade sizes.

While more favorable limits are available in LCG’s ECN account offering – in terms of maximum trade size – the margin requirements are not as low as those available in the Classic account.

Final Thoughts

LCG brings two decades of experience as an online broker rooted in the U.K with EU-passports from its FCA-regulated entity. Client trust is further strengthened as LCG maintains its listing as a publicly traded company and member of the London Stock Exchange.

As a true multi-asset broker, obtaining additional regulatory licenses in other jurisdictions would broaden the scope of its licensing beyond just the UK, despite it being in a major financial hub.

Overall, traders looking for a multi-asset solution, including 62 forex pairs, will find more competitive pricing on the firm’s ECN account offering which requires at least $10,000 to be established, compared to the Classic account where spreads are higher but can be opened with any amount (no minimum).

With automated trading supported on both LCGTrader (cTrader) and MT4, LCG can be a viable choice for traders that wish to use these platforms as not all multi-asset brokers offer automated trading capabilities.

Methodology

Forex Risk Disclaimer

"There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses."Learn more.

Reviewed by Steven Hatzakis
Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Research for ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. Steven is an active fintech and crypto industry researcher and advises blockchain companies at the board level. Over the past 19 years, Steven has held numerous positions within the international forex markets, from writing to consulting to serving as a registered commodity futures representative.

LCG Competitors

Select one or more of these brokers to compare against LCG.

checkcheckcheckcheck

Ratings
Overall

Summary

Commissions & Fees

Offering of Investments

Platforms & Tools

Research

Customer Service

Mobile Trading

Education

Best in Class

2018

14 of 43

Overall

Customer Service

MT4

Commissions & Fees

Commission Notes

In the ECN account, the round-turn commission rate charged per trade will vary depending on whether the MT4 platform or the LCGTrader platform is used.

ECN Account:

On LCG Trader, the commission rate is $4.5 per 100K (standard lot) or $2.25 per side, whereas, on MT4 the commission rate is more than double at $10 per standard lot or $5.0 per side.

In addition, the option to add a guaranteed stop-loss order for an extra 3 pip charge is only available on LCGTrader.

Active Trader rebate program:

LCG offers active traders a discount on their trading costs in the form of a rebate ranging from £4 to as much as £9 per million across their volume-based tiers.

For Forex and indices, a minimum monthly volume of at least £50 million is required to be eligible to receive rebates under the applicable tier with the highest tier set for those that trade over £200 million.

For commodities, the minimum volume requirement is £10 million, and the accompanying tiers are also lower.

An excerpt below highlights the tiers and rebate for each asset-class/volume-tier:

Trading CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies involves a high degree of risk. All providers have a percentage of retail investor accounts that lose money when trading CFDs with their company. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money and whether you understand how CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies work. All data was obtained from a published web site as of 4/03/2018 and is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. The ForexBrokers.com staff is constantly working with its online broker representatives to obtain the latest data. If you believe any data listed above is inaccurate, please contact us using the link at the bottom of this page.

Disclaimer: It is our organization's primary mission to provide reviews, commentary, and analysis that are unbiased and objective. While ForexBrokers.com has some data verified by industry participants, it can vary from time to time. Operating as an online business, this site may be compensated through third party advertisers. Our receipt of such compensation shall not be construed as an endorsement or recommendation by ForexBrokers.com, nor shall it bias our reviews, analysis, and opinions. Please see our General Disclaimers for more information.